list.in.to.chicago this week: 07.24.2006

It looks like a busy week even before you factor in the 41 bands playing over the weekend for the Pitchfork shindig. And that's at Union Park the park and not Union Park the bar. All those bands probably wouldn't fit in the bar.

Pick of the week
Can't go wrong on Thursday night, with Muse at the Aragon and Peeping Tom at the Vic. And there's some good stuff going on at the Pitchfork Music Festival over the weekend, particularly on Saturday night.

list.in.to.COZ
After a long break and a couple of outdoor shows, Diver playing a friday night at Cullen's may feel like coming home.

Recap
So Diver did the street festival as a trio on Saturday, although even that was touch and go as Tony was battling strep throat all week. To honor the circumstances, we opened with "Something's Always Wrong" from Toad The Wet Sprocket, and I think the over/under for me not making a mess of the bridge and ending of "Here Comes The Sun" is probably three more trio gigs.

And I saw Helicopters on Thursday, but spent a lot of their set wondering how they would sound with a real drummer, and then wondering about what benefits live drums bring in the more existential sense. Which is too bad, because the songs sounded pretty strong, otherwise.

7.24   monday
LL Cool J with Luke and Q (House of Blues)
If I had remembered this show was coming up, I would have just teased it two weeks ago when I was talking about how Little Feat was a brutal production when I was in college, but LL Cool J was worse. They insisted on having two of everything. Including bass players. Plus, they had a DJ stand/podium that was painted bright red, and the red paint had spilled in the back of the truck, which led the house manager at Mandel Hall to say they couldn't roll anything across his stage. It was fun.

7.25   tuesday
Open Jam (Vaughan's)   COZ SINGS!
If you missed it last week, you missed yours truly actually getting to host the proceedings, and with a bunch of the regulars off in the 'burbs, also play most of the night. I tried out "An Honest Mistake" probably a week before it was ready, but between the intro to that song, and my attempt at Iron Maiden back on 6/6/06, I think I know what I might throw out there this week.

7.26   wednesday
Genital Hercules with First Round Failure, Machined (Nite Cap Lounge)
We have our winner in the occasional "band name of the week" contest!

The Germs with Vomit (Double Door)
Okay, so Wednesday is apparently NOT Chicago Music Health Awareness Day. You may recall that Germs guitarist Pat Smear put in time with Nirvana, and I think he was the only person not named Dave Grohl who played on the first Foo Fighters record.

7.27   thursday
Muse with The Cloud Room (Aragon Ballroom)
This band often gets pegged as a sort of love child between Jeff Buckley and The Bends-era Radiohead. I don't know that I agree with that assessment -- they're a little more precise with their heavy riffs, kind of in the vein of someone like Porcupine Tree without the prog overtones. The new record hasn't grabbed me quite the way Absolution did, but I haven't really given it too many listens just yet.

Peeping Tom with Dub Trio (The Vic)
This is the latest in a seemingly endless stream of Mike Patton projects, and it comes across as a sort of intersection of Tomahawk and Lovage, two other recent Patton-related records. I've been saying ever since Faith No More's underrated King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime record that Patton is quite possibly the best vocalist in rock and roll and its related genres, and as usual, he's skipping between all those related genres as effortlessly as only he can on this record. The press fixated on guest vocalist Norah Jones saying "motherfucker" on one track, but there's a lot more good stuff than that.

The Germs with I Attack (Beat Kitchen)
The same band -- and a band with some degree of notoriety -- playing Double Door on Wednesday and Beat Kitchen on Thursday? I would think maybe there's a story here, but neither venue gives any indication on their respective websites. Although this show is a 7pm start, so maybe it's an all-ages thing.

7.28   friday
Diver (Cullen's)   SEE COZ LIVE!
If I understand this correctly, Anto is playing some sort of scrimmage either at halftime or after the Fire's Saturday match out in Bridgeview, and if his team loses, they're all getting their heads shaved for charity. So, depending on how you feel about our lead singer's soccer talents, this may be your last chance to see him with a full head of hair.

Art Brut with The Ponys, Headache City (Empty Bottle)
For those not willing to make the full-day or full-weekend commitment to the Pitchfork Festival, at least one of the acts is giving you another chance to see them. I heard these guys on Sound Opinions a couple months back, and they sounded pretty good, although Jim DeRogatis was touting their actual lack of musical skill as too much of a good thing for my taste, but he'll do that.

Billy Idol (Congress Theatre)
I would appreciate it if Mr. Idol would take a page from my playbook and introduce "Rebel Yell" as "a song about a guy named Moe." You know..."in the midnight hour, she cried 'Moe, Moe, Moe!'"

Dashboard Confessional with Say Anything, Ben Lee (Chicago Theatre)   SOLD OUT!
I wonder if this pairing was intentional? Not much of a confessional if you'll say anything, although the principle of pairing Mr. Emo himself with a band named after a Cameron Crowe movie with a generally highly regarded moment of wearing one's heart on one's sleeve -- or over one's head -- seems appropriate.

Guster with Ray LaMontagne, Rogue Wave (Charter One Pavilion)
None of these acts seem quite big enough to warrant a bigger stage, but all together, it might work. I wonder if there's a corporate sponsor for this gig and/or tour? You may recall Guster really pissing some people off at a daylong festival in the area a couple of years ago.

Marah with Adam and Dave's Bloodline (Schubas)
A lot of people were making a lot of noise about this Philly band a while ago, most notably because of the backing of one Bruce Springsteen, but nothing ever really seemed to come of it. That said, they're still out there, so it's not like they've made a mess of it, either.

French Kicks with Phoenix, The Dirty Things, Arcadias (Double Door)
I've heard mixed reviews on the band's new record, but what I've heard has been pretty good. Not earth-shattering, but good indie-ish pop stuff.

7.29   saturday
Pitchfork Music Festival (Union Park)
If you're following all this at home, last year the Intonation Festival was curated by Pitchfork, but this year, the two organizations went their separate ways, giving us both the Intonation Festival last month and now the Pitchfork Music Festival. Saturday's lineup gets good late, with Art Brut, Ted Leo, The Walkmen and The Futureheads in rapid succession.

Absent Star with Pulsymtry, The Year After (Elbo Room)
I'm a little puzzled that these guys are the undercard on this bill, given the whole "major label deal" thing, but there may be more to it than I'm privy to. Maybe they're trying to keep a low profile and I'm blowing it.

7.30   sunday
Pitchfork Music Festival (Union Park)
For me, the Sunday lineup is a little more spotty, although you do have Yo La Tengo and Spoon later in the evening.

Blue Oyster Cult (Taste of Lincoln Avenue)
Yes, you read that right. Blue Oyster Cult is playing on one stage on Lincoln Avenue while Hairbanger's Ball plays a bunch of covers from bands who were influenced by BOC on another. This is either kind of cool or really pathetic, I'm not sure which.